House Members Ask for Bonuses for U-19 National Team Players to be Disbursed Immediately

Jakarta, Todaysgist.com – The DPR reminded the government to provide bonuses to the players and coaches of the Indonesian U-19 National Team who won the AFF U-19 Cup. In addition, the DPR considered the success to be a momentum to strengthen the cultivation of young Indonesian athletes.

It is known that the team coached by Indra Sjafri became the champion of the 2024 AFF Cup after defeating Thailand with a score of 1-0 in the final which took place at the Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium, Surabaya, Monday (29/7/2024) evening.

“Now it’s the government’s turn to keep their promise. Give bonuses that are in accordance with their hard work. This is the obligation of PSSI as the parent of Indonesian football, and also the Ministry of Youth and Sports. Especially for young athletes, bonuses are very useful to motivate the development of their achievements,” said member of the House of Representatives Commission X Andreas Hugo Pareira, Wednesday (31/7/2024).

Andreas said that the reward in the form of bonuses for high-achieving athletes is one form of state attention to the welfare of these young people. The principle of providing welfare for athletes is regulated in Law Number 11 of 2022 concerning Sports, especially Article 20 paragraph (5) letter j. Andreas also encouraged the provision of bonuses to be realized immediately.

“Although this bonus is not the main goal for athletes in fighting, the success of the Young Garuda Team in making Indonesia proud must be rewarded and this is in accordance with the mandate of the Sports Law,” said Andreas.

On the other hand, Andreas explained that the Sports Law aims to improve national development in the field of sports with mature, systematic, integrated, tiered and sustainable planning. He then reminded the importance of early athlete development, including through schools.

“It is very important to provide sports infrastructure that is evenly distributed and adequate in every school. The Ministry of Education and Culture and the Ministry of Youth and Sports can work together in terms of producing athletes. If necessary, we can also create a sports education curriculum that will certainly be useful for children who have talent or potential in the field of sports,” he explained.

Andreas said, the world of education and sports should be able to be harmonized. Moreover, children have their own talents and advantages.

“Today what we see is more support given to children who excel in academics. In fact, there are times when children who may be lacking in academics, but excel in sports. This is what must be mapped seriously,” said Andreas.

For that reason, Commission X of the House of Representatives in charge of education and sports affairs hopes that there will be collaboration between the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology and the Ministry of Youth and Sports in terms of developing human resources (HR) in the field of sports. According to Andreas, the government can follow the example of developed countries in cultivating athletes through schools.

“See how they align the world of education and sports. Universities compete to recruit and provide scholarships for athletes from high schools that have many successful athletes. Schools also have the motivation to improve the quality of their sports education,” he explained.

“That is our big dream, so that Indonesia has an optimal sports education system for children, because from these successful athletes, Indonesia’s name will become bigger in the international arena,” concluded Andreas.